


A matching pair

by robotjellyfish



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Halloween, M/M, accidental couples costume, shance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-31
Updated: 2018-10-31
Packaged: 2019-08-11 16:36:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,722
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16479107
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/robotjellyfish/pseuds/robotjellyfish
Summary: When Lance takes his nice and nephew trick-or-treating, he doesn't expect to receive any treats himself.





	A matching pair

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Halloween everyone. i wanted to give shance a (not so) spooky little gift for halloween in the form of accidental couples costume because I love that trope. I was originally going to write this as a short drabble for my [moment of shance](http://poisonedfortunecookie.tumblr.com/post/179628629718/a-moment-of-shance-37) series over on tumblr....but it got a bit longer than a drabble, so I wrote something else for that and this as well. Hope you enjoy the treat!

The night was dark and cold, a heavy cloud making the shadows deeper, thicker, and all the more threatening. The chill was sharp, sharp enough to sink deep into the marrow of the bone.   
  
Nightmarish apparitions wandered the streets, ghosts and ghouls, witches and demons, and all manner of creatures in between, the supernatural outnumbering human. Screams filled the air, but they were not ones of terror, no. They were screams of joy and laughter, and there was nothing to fear for it was Halloween.   
  
But for Lance, it was more than just 'Halloween', it was the beginning of Día de Muertos, and it was one of his favourite holidays. A time when family and friends would come together to celebrate the bonds shared between them, and honour those that had passed, gone but never forgotten.   
  
While Día de Muertos would always hold pride of place in his heart, he couldn't help but hold a certain fondness for Halloween. The holiday was a different experience entirely, made more for mischief and letting loose, and the free candy and further excuse for dressing up was an added bonus.   
  
There was no way Mia and Ben, being young children who adored sweets, could turn down the chance of getting free candy, not even with the promise of a feast and brighter festivities during the following days. And so it fell to Lance, being the youngest of his siblings, to babysit them and take them trick or treating. A task Lance took up gladly, and with perhaps more enthusiasm than was warranted. After all, he never could turn down the opportunity to dress up and show off.   
  
Never one to do things by half measures Lance went as far as to make his own costume, as well as his niece and nephew's. Luckily for him, the children were easy to please and were happy to wear whatever he gave them provided they got to go collect their candy. Besides, after introducing them to The Addams Family, they'd taken to their costumes quite willingly.   
  
Mia walked a few steps ahead of Lance, striding along spectral-like in her midnight black dress with it's neat, white peter-pan collar, her dark brown hair smoothed into perfect twin braids (it had taken Lance almost an hour to get her wavy hair under control). She held a sombre, grave air about her, aided by the glowing skull-shaped lamp she held aloft in one hand to light her way. Several children gave her a wide birth as they passed, others cast her furtive looks and whispering to their friends in nervous hisses. Wednesday Addam's would have been proud at the air of unease she cast.   
  
Ben held Lance's hand, swinging it back and forth as they walked, talking about everything and nothing the way young children do, perhaps a little more animated than the original Pugsley Addams, but his striped t-shirt and black shorts were flawless, and Thing sat on his shoulder, giving his simple costume that little touch of the disconcerting.   
  
Lance listened dutifully to his excited chatter, half his attention on the conversation, responding where he should, the other half of his attention on Mia, keeping a careful eye on her to ensure she didn't wander too far ahead.  
  
And who would Wednesday and Pugsley Addams be without Morticia? Lance wore a long, figure-hugging black dress that clung to every line of his body before flaring out around his calves at the last second creating a dark, pooling train of lace and delicate fabric around his feet. The waist was cinched in tight, tight enough that Lance really hoped the children wouldn't start to misbehave and cause him to chase after them, for he wasn't sure his costume would allow it. His sleeves were long, flaring out at his wrists in delicate drapes.  
  
His lips were painted a deep, blood red. His lashes were dark and long, make-up sharp and dramatic. He couldn't put anything more than face paint on the kids, so he'd gone all out with his own look. A sleek, long ebony wig completed his costume, dark hair framing his face and cascading down his back.   
  
  
Some might ask why he chose to wear a dress, why he didn't dress-up as Gomez Addams instead, but pinstripes didn't really suit him, and Morticia gave more room for flair.   
  
“We should claim our offerings here next.” Mia stopped and slowly turned to Lance and Ben, lifting her skull lamp to indicate a somewhat underwhelming house. The decorations were sparse and somewhat lacking, although it was clear the occupants had at least tried. A carved pumpkin sat on the porch, a candle flickered welcomingly inside it, lighting up the crooked face.   
  
“Ok, but no more pretending to curse people if they give you candy you don't like,” Lance warned.   
  
“I won't need to curse anyone as long as they appease me,” Mia bit back smartly, striding up to the door she didn't once break character. She was maybe taking to Wednesday's character a little too well...  
  
Ben laughed, swinging Lance's arm hard. “You can't make curses anyway,” he jibed.  
  
The girl glance over her shoulder, shooting her brother a cold glare that made him yelp and hide behind Lance's skirt.   
  
Mia turned to the door and knocked three sharp, clear raps. Ben peeked out from behind Lance and quickly shuffled forward to stand beside her as the door opened, his smile wide and gap-toothed. “Trick-or-treat,” they chimed in unison.  
  
Silence followed. The man who'd opened the door stood, frozen, staring down at them with a look of disbelief. He blinked, and slowly lifted gentle grey eyes to meet Lance.   
  
Lance's breath caught in his throat, and the man stared.   
  
Ben, far too young to understand the look that passed between the two men, grinned and looked up at Lance. “Look, uncle Lance, it's your husband!” he said proudly, the sleeked back hair and pinstriped suit the man wore unmistakable.   
  
Lance let out a sound that was something between a scream and a curse. It caught in his throat, and he almost choked. The (very hot) stranger was still staring at him, and a pink flush rose in his cheeks at the boy's words.   
  
Before Lance could say something to salvage the situation (or more likely, make it worse), the man glanced away and ducked down in front of the children.   
  
“My sweet little terrors, how wonderful to see you,” the man greeted them in an exaggerated imitation of Gomez's voice. “I hope you are behaving yourselves.”  
  
Ben laughed, but Mia did not look impressed, and she held out her bucket, already heavy with candy, expectantly.   
  
“I'm having fun trick-or-treating, I have lots of candy already, but Mia-I mean Wednesday keeps pretending to curse people and scaring them.”   
  
“Tattletale!” Mia gasped. She shoved her brother with her elbow and scowled.   
  
“It's not tattle-telling if it's the truth,” Ben shot back, sticking his tongue out.   
  
The hot stranger laughed and cast a quick glance up at Lance with a crooked smiled that made Lance's heart skip a beat. He was given no time to recover, or even respond to the temptation in the smile before the man turned his attention back to the children. “Now my dear it is wise to keep those normal people in check, but we shouldn't scare them too much, they can be quite delicate.” The man shot Mia a conspiring wink, and she smiled, the grin pulling at her lips despite her best efforts to hide it and stay in character.   
  
“Now remind me, what was your favourite candy again? Oh, I know was it chocolate covered spiders….no, jellied eyeballs-” He was cut off by both children breaking into fits of giggles.   
  
“Gross!” Ben shrieked.   
  
“I like normal candy,” Mia replied, her smiled shy and soft.   
  
“Ah, and I bought some lovely toad slime just for you,” the man lamented, and the children laughed and made noises of disgust. “But I do have some normal chocolate too if that's what you really want,” he said with a heavy sigh of fake disappointment. He turned to grab a large bowl from a low table beside the door, filled with treat sized bars of a variety of candy, and he held it out to the children, letting them pick whatever they wanted. He didn't say a word when both of them took a big handful each and dropped them in their buckets.   
  
“Hey, leave some for the other kids you monsters,” Lance warned, his authoritative tone stopping their sneaky hands going back for seconds.   
  
“Why don't you take one more each,” the man whispered, a stage whisper loud enough for Lance to hear, but he pretended not to and looked away as both children smiled, and very slowly and (not so) sneakily reached back into the bowl to pick one more piece of candy each.   
  
“A sweet for my sweet?” The man offered, no longer speaking in imitation of Gomez Addams. His voice was deep, and smooth and wrapped around Lance like treacle. He was standing now (at least a head taller than Lance), and he held out the bowl over the children's heads.   
  
Lance was pretty sure his heart had stopped beating at the way the man purred those words, 'my sweet'. It was only an act to amuse the kids, he was sure, but it almost sounded real, and Lance's mouth went dry.   
  
It took him a moment to compose himself, swallow around the lump in his throat and find his tongue again. Slowly he reached into the bowl and plucked out one of the small candy bars between his thumb and forefinger. “Hmm, this is a rather small morsel. I'm afraid it'll take something a little bigger to satisfy me,” he hummed, his eyes raking over the stranger as he spoke. The suit was ill-fitting, clearly shop brought, but on the man, it added a little something. The jacket pulled across his broad shoulders and strained to close over his muscular chest. Lance could see the way the man swallowed at his words, how it made his chest rise and fall putting even more strain on the button.   
  
His face was as strong and sculpted as his body, a sharp jaw and high cheekbones that still had a slightly pink glow about them. He was gorgeous, and exactly Lance's type, and what were the odds he'd find someone wearing a costume to match his. It had to be a sign-  
  
“Puppy!”

Mia's delighted cry broke the moment between them as a large, shaggy dog appeared suddenly beside the man, a worn tennis ball held in his jaws. The dog regarded the children for a moment before pushing past the man's legs and carefully depositing the tennis ball at Mia's feet.   
  
The girl abandoned her lamp and her bucket of candy, placing them on the floor beside her so she could snatch the ball up. “Can we play with him? Please?” she asked, her big brown eyes darting back and forth between Lance and the other man imploringly.   
  
“Please!” Ben chimed in, bouncing on the balls of his feet at her side.   
  
The man chuckled (a deep rumble in his chest that made Lance's knees go weak), and he glanced at Lance, looking for approval before he turned back Mia. “Sure, it's ok as long as your darling mother approves.” He said, his imitation of Gomez returning and a twinkle in his eye suggesting he was teasing Lance.   
  
“Uncle Lance isn't our mommy, it's just a costume,” Mia giggled.   
  
“You can go play with the dog, but just for a minute,” Lance agreed with a shake of his head.   
  
Both children cheered and jumped off the porch onto the front yard. The dog followed them, and Mia tossed the ball for him.   
  
“His name is Cosmo!” The man shouted after them, not sure if they heard him over their screams of joy, but it didn't matter. He placed the bowl of candy back on the table and turned his attention to Lance once again.   
  
“The dress looks good on you, Lance,” he said appreciatively, a darker shade to his grey eyes now as they ran up and down Lance's frame.   
  
Lance cocked a hip, standing in a way he knew accentuated his best features, giving the man a good look. He crossed his arms over his chest and twirled a long strand of ebony hair around his finger. “You know if you're going to stare that much you could at least give me your name.”   
  
“Shiro,” the stranger said, the word muffled by a laugh. “My name's Shiro, and if that little piece of candy won't satisfy you, then I think I may have just the thing. Wait here a minute.” Shiro winked and went back into the house, leaving the front door open. He walked a short distance down the corridor before ducking through a doorway, disappearing from sight.   
  
Lance watched him for a moment, craning his neck to see further into the house. Down the hallway he could see into what looked like a living room, lit with a low orange light it appeared to be decorated for a party. He turned away after a moment, watching the children play on the lawn with the dog.   
  
Shutting the kitchen door behind him, Shiro sank against it and let out a long breath, his heart pounding in his chest. His costume suddenly felt far too warm, tight and itchy. All he could think about was the image of the gorgeous young man standing on his porch in that tight dress that outlined his trim figure so beautifully.   
  
Shiro swallowed, pushed himself off the door, and dived into the cupboards, raiding them all leaving every door open until he found what he was looking for. A full-size bar of chocolate. It was a kit-kat he had no memory of buying it which suggested it probably belonged to Keith, but sacrifices had to be made. He'd buy Keith another ten to make up for it.   
  
Raiding the drawers soon produced a sharpie, and Shiro rushed back to the front door, leaving the kitchen looking like a hurricane had struck it. He was glad to see Lance was still there, waiting on the porch when he returned.   
  
“Sorry to keep you waiting,” Shiro called to him, holding out the chocolate bar in offering.   
  
Turning to face him, Lance paused, staring at the chocolate with a mixture of confusion and mild disappointment. He reached for it with a small thank you, but before he could pull away Shiro caught his hand, the chocolate held between them, and he bowed, pressing a kiss Lance's knuckles.   
  
“We're having a party, if you're not babysitting all night, you're welcome to call, whenever,” Shiro said, his breath hot against Lance's fingers. After he finished speaking, he let go, leaving Lance with the chocolate bar and burning fingers.  
  
  
Lance looked down at the chocolate bar, letting the long hair fall forward to hide his face. It took a moment, between trying to catch his breath and stopping his heart from leaping out of his mouth for him to notice the scribbled numbers on the wrapper. Oh. He curled his hand around the chocolate, holding it tight. Slowly he lifted his head, hair falling back into place, his blue eyes shimmering as if an entire galaxy were caught in them. Shiro's breath hitched.   
  
“I have a family thing tonight, but I should be able to sleep away after a little while...” he trailed off, chewing his bottom lip. The real celebrations wouldn't begin until tomorrow, so it wasn't as if he was duty bound to spend the whole night with his family. Surely if he explained it was to forge some new bonds, they would understand.   
  
“The party will go on till late,” Shiro added, eager and not at all deterred. “You can call me whenever you like, even if it's after midnight or a week from now.”   
  
Lance smiled, coy and alluring his head lowered, eyelashes covering his eyes and hair falling forward just enough, casting his face in shadow but not hiding it. “In that case, I suppose I can figure something out,” he hummed, as if he still hadn't quite made up his mind yet, although on the inside he was jumping up and down and screaming that, yes, he would most definitely call Shiro the moment he had the chance, and if Shiro was happy with him calling a week from now anyway why not make it a date instead?   
  
But he didn't want to seem too eager and frighten the guy off.   
  
“I can't wait to hear from you,” Shiro said, cocky and sure, as if he already knew Lance would call. Maybe Lance wasn't as good of an actor as he thought he was.   
  
Another group of trick-or-treaters wandered into the yard, and veered off towards Mia and Ben, distracted by Cosmo and his happy barking.   
  
“Looks like you have company. I better go before the kids decide to take your dog as one of their treats,” Lance chuckled, shooting Shiro a softer smile, one that was more open.   
  
“Oh, right,” Shiro glanced over at the group of kids as if he'd only just remembered what time of year it was, what night it was. His fingers twitched, curling around his bicep to stop himself from reaching out to Lance and draw the other man to him…  
  
“I'll call you,” Lance promised, waving the chocolate bar in front of him before he tucked it into the bodice of his dress (he didn't have any pockets). He stooped, collecting the things the kids had left on the porch before he stood again, winking at Shiro before he turned away.   
  
Shiro bit his lip to hold back a laugh. “I'll wait up all night if I have to,” he promised in a low whisper as Lance glided down the steps, off the porch. Shiro hadn't intended for him to hear him, but judging by the slight falter in Lance step he probably had.   
  
“Mia, Ben, time to go. Say goodbye to Cosmo.”   
  
“Do we have to?”   
  
“Can't we stay and play with the puppy?”   
  
“Not tonight. I need to get you home soon. Don't you want to get some more candy first?”   
  
Mia looked between her uncle and the dog, and then let out a long, unhappy groan. She trudged toward Lance, Ben following behind her, and sullenly the two children took back their things, and went on their way.   
  
Cosmo herded the new trick-or-treaters up to the porch, and Shiro gave out candy to them while Cosmo disappeared into the house behind him.  


* * *

  
  
“Did you let Cosmo out?” Shiro asked as he stepped into the living room. Keith sat sprawled out on the sofa, Cosmo asleep at his feet.  
  
“A sweet for my sweet?” Keith echoed in a simpering tone, echoing Shiro's earlier words. So, he'd heard everything. Keith laughed as colour flooded Shiro's cheeks and ran down the back of his neck. “I figured you could use all the help you could get.”   
  
Shiro groaned and sank onto the armchair. “Well, Cosmo did help distract the kids..”   
  
“So, do you think he'll call?”   
  
“Maybe, but I don't know if he can make it to the party,” Shiro whined.   
  
“Do you want me to call Allura and ask her to change her costume, just in case? She can probably adjust Morticia into a witch or something,” Keith chuckled.   
  
“She's gonna hate me.”   
  
“I dunno, if I tell her all about your attempts at flirting with that Lance guy I'm sure she'll see it as an acceptable trade-off.”   
  
Shiro groaned again, pulled a pillow out from behind him, and buried his face in it.   
  
He was not going to hear the end of this any time soon, but if Lance called him, then it would all be worth it.   
  
And Shiro knew Lance would call.   


* * *

  
  
“Hey, Shiro. It's Lance.”   
  
“Hi, Lance!” Shiro yelled down the phone, his words a little slurred suggesting he'd been drinking, but he still seemed to know who Lance was. “You called. I'm so glad. Can you come to the party now?” he all asked, the words coming out as a whine.   
  
“Yeah, I managed to sneak away,” Lance chuckled as he strode down the street, walking fast to keep himself warm. He'd left without a coat, not wanting to spoil the effect of his costume. “So the parties still going? I'm almost at your place.”   
  
“You are? Good, I'll come get you!” Shiro exclaimed before hanging up in his excitement.   
  
Laughing Lance shook his head and tucked his phone into the top of his dress, smoothing the fabric around it, so it didn't leave such an obvious shape. He reached the house a few moments later, and Shiro was there, waiting on the porch. His hair was a little messier now, and the jacket hung open. He smiled when he saw Lance and lifted an arm above his head to wave, big and wide as if Lance might miss him.   
  
“You came!” he said brightly as Lance slowly climbed up the steps. He offered his hand to Lance, helping him up the final couple of steps then pulling the other man against him when he was close enough. “You kept the dress on.”   
  
“Of course. This is a costume party isn't it?”   
  
Shiro laughed and lifted Lance's hand to his lips, pressing a kiss against his knuckles again. Lance caught a strong whiff of beer and sweat, and the thumping bass beat from the house suggested the party was still in full swing. “It is, and now that you're here you'll steal the show.” Shiro lifted his head and winked, before looping his arms with Lance's and leading him into the house.  
  
The party went on well into the night and continued even after all of Shiro and Keith's friends had gone home, and Keith had retreated to the safety of his room. Only Cosmo kept them company as they wound down in the early hours, curled up on the sofa together in a tipsy haze, learning all they could about each other between stolen kisses and fumbling hands, and although thing went no further than touching, there was a promise of much more to come.

 


End file.
